Ross Kemp has ruled out a return to EastEnders in the foreseeable future, emphasising his enjoyment of television production.
The 46-year-old, who played bad boy Grant Mitchell on the BBC One soap, also admitted that he never watched the show at home.
He told the Radio Times: "I've no plans to [return to EastEnders]. I enjoy the fact that I've far more control over my destiny than I ever had when acting.
"I didn't even watch the soaps when I was in them because it's like a coal miner coming home and staring at the coal scuttle - I was never a great lover of watching myself act."
The star added of his current plans: "I come up with a lot of the ideas of the programmes. I oversee them as the executive producer. I'm on the ground when they're being made. I'm involved in the editing and write the commentary. I also write books and am attempting my first novel. I like to be busy."
Kemp starred in EastEnders between 1990 and 1999, before briefly reprising his role in 2005 for one year.
Documentary series Ross Kemp: Extreme World is the former actor's latest project, and will air this spring on Sky 1.